Climate crisis is coming to crush many of world’s best surf breaks, study warns — SkimNews
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- A study in the journal Climatic Change found more than three-quarters of famous waves in World Surfing Reserves are at high risk from changing tide levels, hardened shorelines and shifting sands driven by global heating
- Nearly 200 local experts analyzed 57 surf breaks across 8 countries in 11 of the 13 WSRs, with researchers noting thousands of other surf waves worldwide face similar peril
- The most at-risk breaks include Croyde beach in north Devon, the point breaks at Noosa in Australia, Oriente Salvaje in El Salvador, and Santa Cruz reefs in California including Sewer Peak and Wind and Sea
- Dan Reineman, associate professor at California State University Channel Islands and co-author, said hardened infrastructure like sea walls, jetties and groynes makes beaches and waves less resilient, while natural coastlines can adapt by shifting inland and relocating sediments
- Places with surf-protective laws include Australia's Gold Coast city, which embeds protection in planning law, New Zealand's designation of nationally significant breaks, and Peru's Ley de rompientes, which protects listed surf breaks
- Santa Cruz surfing generates about $200m (£151m) a year, with co-author Trent Hodges of Save the Waves Coalition saying the east of El Salvador has economies "pretty much dependent on surfing"
Why it matters: With Santa Cruz alone generating $200m annually from surfing and entire regional economies like eastern El Salvador nearly wholly dependent on the sport, the degradation of world-class breaks isn't just an environmental story — it directly threatens livelihoods in coastal communities with few economic alternatives. The researchers found natural coastlines adapt to shifting climate conditions while hardened infrastructure prevents that adaptation, making coastal development policy as consequential as emissions policy for these economies.
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